• 
• 5 min
• Time Magazine
• 2017

Chicago police enact an algorithm to calculate a “risk score” for individuals based on factors such as criminal history and age with the aim of assessing and pre-emptively striking against risk. However, these numbers are inherently linked to human bias both in input and outcome, and could lead to unfair targeted of citizens, even as it supposedly introduces objectivity to the system.

• Predictive Policing
• Algorithmic Bias
• Machine Learning

• 
• 10 min
• The Washington Post
• 2019

Law enforcement officials at Federal and state levels, notably the FBI and ICE, use state driver’s license photo databases as a repository for facial recognition software. Such capabilities allow DMVs to help law enforcement in finding those suspected of a crime, undocumented immigrants, or even witnesses. Ultimately, states allow this to happen with certain stipulations, feeding into a concerning system of facial recognition and breach of trust. There is not a solid established system for citizen consent to such monitoring.

• Data Privacy
• Civil Surveillance
• Computer Vision
• Biometrics

• 
• 7 min
• Vice
• 2019

Programmer creates an application that uses neural networks to remove clothing from the images of women. Deepfake technology being used against women systematically, despite continued narrative that its use in the political realm is the most pressing issue.

• Deep Fake
• Gender Bias
• Machine Learning
• Object Recognition

• 
• 30 min
• Wired
• 2019

In China, “supercompanies” such as WeChat or Alipay aggregate massive amounts of varied data on users. The Zhima Credit score system directly influences the agency of users by limiting their options in acting in their environment, or determining with whom they interact. The Chinese government interests itself with allying with large tech companies to incorporate a social ranking system which can be used to control and suppress citizens. Although the United States does not have “supercompanies” like those mentioned from China, the large companies that collect user data in the US certainly have the same potential to limit human agency.

• Data Privacy
• Governing Technologies
• Data Mining
• Digital Cash

• 
• 10 min
• Quartz
• 2019

A comparison of surveillance systems in China and the US which target, and aid in the persecution of, ethnic minorities. Data on targeted people is tracked extensively and compiled into intuitive databases which can be abused by government organizations.

• Data Privacy
• Civil Surveillance
• Machine Learning
• Data Mining

• 
• 5 min
• GIS Lounge
• 2019

GIS, a relatively new form of computational analysis, can often contain algorithms with biases based on biases present in the training data from open data sources, with this case study focusing on the tendency of power-line identification data being centered around the Western world. This problem can be improved by approaching data collection with more intentionality, either broadening the pool of collected geographic data or inputting artificial images to help the tool recognize a greater number of circumstances and thus become more accurate.

• Global Impact of Technology
• Algorithmic Bias
• Machine Learning
• Object Recognition